Five things you need to know from No. 4 Kentucky’s 88-72 loss to No. 2 Gonzaga
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Game day: No. 2 Gonzaga 88, No. 4 Kentucky 72
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Sunday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash.
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Five things you need to know from the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats’ 88-72 loss to the No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs in NCAA men’s college basketball at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Wash.:
1. Tshiebwe vs. Timme. In what was likely the most-anticipated individual matchup of the 2022-23 college season, both participants played well.
Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe battled foul trouble, but still put up a double-double, 20 points and 15 rebounds, in 28 minutes.
UK had cut an 18-point, second-half deficit, 43-25, to 49-45 when Tshiebwe picked up his fourth foul with 12:48 left in the game. With John Calipari forced to take the 6-foot-9, 260-pound senior out, the momentum flipped back to Mark Few’s Zags.
Meanwhile, Gonzaga star Drew Timme showed his usual deft, offensive post skill. The 6-10, 235-pound senior went for 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists while making 9 of 13 shots.
Timme’s team won the game, but both big men played well enough that neither should have gained any substantial advantage in this season’s National Player of the Year battle.
What was clear is that, for one night, Timme had a whole lot more help than Tshiebwe.
Gonzaga forward Julian Strawther produced a double-double of his own, 20 points and 14 rebounds. Bulldogs guard Rasir Bolton was scalding hot with his shot, draining eight of 14 field goals, four of eight three-pointers and all four of his free throws to score 24 points.
2. Washington state is not for shooters? Kentucky basketball teams seem not to shoot real well in the state of Washington. Playing in Seattle, the 1983-84 Wildcats, infamously, shot 3 of 33 in the second half of a 53-40 Final Four loss to Georgetown.
Kentucky’s first-half shooting in Spokane on Sunday night wasn’t that bad — but it was close. UK made only eight of 32 first-half shots and fell behind 41-25 at halftime. The Cats played better offensively in half two, but the hole was to deep from which to escape.
3. UK’s designated outside shooters struggle again. Iowa transfer CJ Fredrick and Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves are being counted on to be Kentucky’s three-point marksmen. So it is a tad worrisome that in the Wildcats’ two games against elite competition this season, both Fredrick and Reeves have struggled to put the ball in the basket.
In Tuesday night’s 86-77 double-overtime loss to Michigan State, Fredrick went 2 of 7 on field-goal tries, 1 of 6 on three-pointers, while Reeves went 1 of 7, 1 of 3.
Against Gonzaga, Fredrick was 1 of 9 on field goals, 1 of 6 on treys. Reeves hit four of 13 field goals, two of seven three-pointers.
Two games do not a trend make, but it would be nice the next time Kentucky faces a marquee foe — which will be Michigan in London, England, on Dec. 4 — if Fredrick and Reeves could start getting the ball in the basket more consistently.
4. Cats’ problems vs. ranked teams continue. Kentucky has now lost 12 of its last 16 games vs. ranked teams, including three straight and four out of five.
5. UK’s struggles vs. No. 2 teams persist. The Wildcats have now lost 10 of their last 11 meetings with teams ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25. Overall, UK is now 11-15 all-time vs. No. 2 teams.
This story was originally published November 20, 2022 at 10:05 PM.
